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Berry Questions

Patriot

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2019
Messages
842
Looking for help on berries. I am in the northeast and up here we have these pricker bush berries that grow almost like weeds. I have no idea what the berries are but I’ve eaten them since I was a kid and they are great. Taste like raspberry’s but a little different. Black and red ones grow on the same plant.

stupid question but do deer eat them? They grow in areas that are early gestational growth clearings. I see slight trails through the weeds and a bed here and there but I don’t see droppings which makes me wonder why deer aren’t pounding them.

anyone have experience with these? Is it a potential early season good source or are they gone by mid September?

thoughts and experience appreciated.
 

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Blackberries. Just got done picking a bunch off our bushes in the back yard! The red ones just aren't ripe yet. You should get into wine making....

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Deer will browse on the plants and berries but the berries will be gone by deer season. The red berries are just blackberries that have yet to ripen.
 
Deer do browse heavy on the bushes,especialy later in the season. Look for chewed of tips of the bushes,the most tender growth.
 
This is another example of local herds preferring different stuff.
My deer don't seem to browse blackberry very much. The berries, yes. The plants itself, not so much.
Raspberry is another story. They like the plants and berries here.
 
Definitely Black Berries great for wine, shine, pie or just pluck and eat. Haven't really seen a lot of deer feast on them but because the bushes get so thick they make for great buck bedding areas. Not a lot of people want get to deep into them.
 
Second that my grandfather use to keep rubber snakes laying on the top of the bushes said it kept the birds out of them. Not sure if it was more for the birds or the grand kids, use to startle the hell out of all of us.
I had a planted patch of blackberries in my garden. One year i was picking and caught movement at head height just a few feet from me. A garter snake was on the blackberries,i just about jumped out of my pants.
 
I’ve got a ton of blackberry and raspberries at my new place! Anyone have some good booze recipes?
 
I’ve got a ton of blackberry and raspberries at my new place! Anyone have some good booze recipes?
This is the one we use and it works great for any berries. If you come up short of your 20lbs. Walmart sells a berry blend. That'll finish really dry though so be sure to read at the bottom and add potassium sorbate and back sweeten if you want a sweeter wine: https://eckraus.com/content/blackberrywine.pdf
 
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Looking for help on berries. I am in the northeast and up here we have these pricker bush berries that grow almost like weeds. I have no idea what the berries are but I’ve eaten them since I was a kid and they are great. Taste like raspberry’s but a little different. Black and red ones grow on the same plant.

stupid question but do deer eat them? They grow in areas that are early gestational growth clearings. I see slight trails through the weeds and a bed here and there but I don’t see droppings which makes me wonder why deer aren’t pounding them.

anyone have experience with these? Is it a potential early season good source or are they gone by mid September?

thoughts and experience appreciated.
I like finding those "slight trails" with beds here and there. The bigger reclusive bucks tend to keep off the heavy beaten ones where i hunt. Those are just big doe herds. U Might got a good spot there. Keep an eye on it. Its good cover
 
The deer absolutely POUND the blackberries on my dad's property. They will walk right down his driveway to get to them with no cover around.
 
We have dewberries down here. I picked probably 10lbs of fruit last year out of a clearcut full of the stuff. Deer will eat the fresh growth readily. Once the stuff grows tall enough that it starts to self prune and kill the leaves underneath the top layer, deer and hogs will make tunnels in the stuff. No getting them out without a favorable wind, a match, and 5 gallons of gas.
 
If u are patient......
Definitely going to give this a shot. I’ve made beer and wine before and always wanted to try mead.

I have made wine out of blackberries but I didn’t like it as much as blueberries. Pineapple and Peach are both winners too.
 
Definitely going to give this a shot. I’ve made beer and wine before and always wanted to try mead.

I have made wine out of blackberries but I didn’t like it as much as blueberries. Pineapple and Peach are both winners too.
We've made blackberry and strawberry mead and it takes 2 years to mellow and really taste good.
 
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